Simple Tips for Taking Better Travel Photos

Whether your using a smartphone or a DSLR, follow these basic photography principles to ensure your most favorite holiday memories are captured perfectly.

Rule of Thirds

Rule of Thirds is one of the simplest principles of photography and an easy way to make your photos better. Just imagine there is a noughts and crosses (tic tac toe) board on your image – two horizontal lines and two vertical that divide your image into nine squares.

To capture a photo utilizing rule of thirds, then simply line up the main subject of the photo with one of the intersections of the lines or along the lines. Studies have shown that peoples’ eyes naturally move to the intersection points of an image, rather than the centre, as you would assume.

Most cameras have a 3×3 grid option available in the camera settings (including Instagram!) Turn on the grid and experiment with placing your subjects in the intersection points of your noughts and crosses board.

Get low

You have to envy children sometimes. They are constantly looking up at everything and seeing the world in the most amazing way. An easy way to make your images more dynamic is to simply get a shot from down low. Not only will it make your photos more dramatic but it will also add depth and create a more captivating image.

Leading Lines

Leading lines is another basic principle of photography that uses the landscape to guide the viewer’s eyes to whatever the photographer wants the viewer to focus on. This can be as simple as a road, a park bench, a bridge or a railing.

Foreground object

Too often you will take a photo of a beautiful landscape and it just looks small and flat. It’s frustrating as the extraordinary grandeur of the scene is lost. An easy way to fix this is to look for something in the foreground – rocks, trees, or even a person. It could add a sense of depth that the shot might be missing.

Stop. Breath. And shoot.

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen people walking and taking photos at the same time. They see something nice, raise the camera up, and click without considering composition or exposure. Stop for a moment, appreciate what you are looking at, take a deep breath, and raise the camera. Find the perfect angle. The perfect framing. Then, take the photo.

Look Up

This one is my own little photographic tip, and it couldn’t be simpler! Always look for new and exciting angles, and always remember to look up.

Break the rules

It’s good to know about the Rule of Thirds, leading lines, exposure, and shutter speeds. But at the end of the day, these are your memories captured in time. Decide on your own angle, your own framing, and how you want to remember the moment.